Home Photo printing & cropping
Does changing a file from 72 to 300 PPI help the print?
Published by Print Frame Notes
Changing the PPI with resampling turned off keeps every original pixel. It changes the physical print size recorded in the file. Adding pixels through resampling changes the file, but it cannot recover fine detail lost in the capture.
Read the pixel dimensions before and after
Take a 3600 × 2400 photograph. Tagged at 72 PPI, its suggested size is 50 × 33⅓ inches. Set it to 300 PPI while preserving pixels and the suggested size becomes 12 × 8 inches. Both versions contain the same 8.64 million pixels. A lab printing either file at 12 × 8 has the same native 300 pixels available per inch.
If you ask for 18 × 12 with the original pixels, the native density becomes 200 PPI. Requesting that same print at 300 PPI with resampling enabled creates a 5400 × 3600 file. Inspect small textures on both versions. A bigger number in the file information tells you how many pixels will be sent, not how much texture was captured.
Proof an enlargement without ordering the whole thing
At the 200 PPI print scale, select a 1200 × 800 pixel patch from the original and order it at 6 × 4 inches. Include a face, lettering or the area whose softness worries you. The detail will appear at the same physical scale as in the planned 18 × 12.
Use the same lab and paper if possible. Disable fit-to-page enlargement in a home print dialog, and confirm the dimensions with a ruler. The patch helps judge detail. You will still need the full-image preview to judge framing.